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Community updates
Community updates are community questions gathered by Shane K Defreest in Official NWN2 forums and later answered by Obsidian developers. They are usually connected by a single broad topic, also known as Topic of the Month. Note that answers in community updates are not set in stone and may change during development. Classes and Races: NWN2 Community Update #1 and #1.5 (Feb 15, 2006) Original threads can be found here and here * On paladins changing alignment: If paladin's alignment shifts from lawful good to something else, he can no longer pick up paladin levels, but his abilities do not get retroactively turned off. This may change in expansion or patch. ( Ferret Baudoin) * On NPC's reaction to evil subraces: Obsidian is focusing on reactions to player's choices in-game and not during character creation. So wether drow/duergar PC's will get penalties to appraise/diplomacy/bluff/intimidate is uncertain, but it has been added to the developers "to-do" list ( Ferret Baudoin) *''' On developing emotional connection between player and his character':Quote: Chris Avellone is writing our companions and many prominent characters – and he’s a wiz at exactly that. Making interesting, involving characters that you can develop a connection to. I really think that players are going to have tough choices of which 3 people to bring with you in your journeys, because there will be enough people you really like to fill 2 parties (or more). That opens the door to replayability, though. Our goal is to deliver on this front in spades." ( Ferret Baudoin) *'On skin tones and color palette restrictions': There will be restrictions to color palletes based on subraces. Some subraces will have more hair and color choices than others, and at least one race type will have almost human-like choices. (Note: this can be changed through 2da edits) *'On determining cleric Domains based on appropriate Gods': The domain system works almost identically to the original Neverwinter Nights, and it probably won't change. Classes and Races: NWN2 Community Update #2 (Feb 23, 2006) Original thread can be found here *'On clothes and armor mix-and-matching': Quote:"There are different choices for the base armor. The base is something like a breastplate with no accessories. Then you can select different attachments to mix and match to create a look for the armor – so you can choose from different shoulder pieces, forearm pieces, leg pieces, etc. There’s enough permutation of attachments to make a wide variety of looks. Add to that you can change the color palette of the armor, too, so there’s a lot of flexibility." *'On friendly spells cast on drow': Drow’s magic resistance will automatically let beneficial spells go off according to the rules, but it's not implemented to avoid excessive micromanagement. *'On classes with alignment restriction': Classes will have alignment restrictions. I.e. Warlock, Paladin, or Monk initially won’t start off at True Neutral. Alignment changes accordingly to PC's in-game actions - and there are diffucult moral choices. *'On prestige classes' spell lists': Ambiguous answer. Quote:"The NWN1 prestige classes don’t have spell lists. That’s one of the reasons we pushed so hard to get spell progression prestige classes in our game because we wanted to have prestige classes that have a lot more “spell power.” There are a lot of prestige classes to choose from, so there should now be something for everyone." *'On class-specific quests': There are some class-specific quests – but there's a limited amount of them and they are not incredibly deep. Obsidian chose to focus on players in-game choices, not decisions made on character creation. Creatures: NWN2 Community Update #3 (Mar 02 2006) Original thread can be found here *'On creature specific armor': Creature armor works differently from the PC. Creatures have a variety of their own base armor types which look more appropriate to their nature - and creature specific attachments. Most creatures can't wear PC's armor. *'On changing monster AI in the toolset': Currently there's no answer. There will be a specific announcement after QA approval. *'On monster classes': Monsters are limited to 4 classes just like the player character, because they use the same code. *'On monster animations and soundsets': Quote: "Voice sets works the same way as the original game. Animations depend on the monster. If the critter is humanoid a lot of times it’ll use the human animations as a base, which means they’ll have access to a ton of animations. Non-humanoid critters have their own animation sets which don’t have the same depth as the human animations but they are specific to them. Non-humanoids are primarily built to look awesome in a fight." *'On negotiating with monsters': There are instances where you can persuade opposing party to get out of the fight, but most monsters can't be reasoned with. Creatures: NWN2 Community Update #4 (Mar 11 2006) Original thread can be found here *'On planar monsters': There's a decent selection of planar creatures: demons, devils, githyanki, imps, and some other fan favourites. More information on monsters to come. *'On different creatures behaving accordingly (AI-wise): No answer. More information is promised soon. *'''On modelling tools built into toolset: No modelling tools. Yet some graphical assets can be created in the toolset using a set of plugins. Overall, modelling will be more complex in NWN2 then it was in NWN1. *'On monsters running away/calling for reinforcement': 'Coward AI' is being tested by QA and is probably in. *'On creature prefabs': Creature prefabs are in (i.e you can group creatures and save them for later use in the toolset). Creatures: NWN2 Community Update #5 (Mar 21 2006) Original thread can be found here *'On monsters with several arms': Such monsters exist (i.e Marilith), but their actual mechanics is of 2-armed creatures, so additional work is needed to simulate damage and powers of 4-armed creatures. (Chris Avellone) *'On altering hard-coded abilities like knockdown/disarm': Quote:"New scripting commands allow feats to be given to players on a permanent basis – not just as an effect or item property." (Charles Mead) *'On built-in randomization of monster appearances':Each different appearance will need to be on the palette. (Charles Mead) *'On monsters with swallow/grapple ability': Not in due to time restrictions.(Chris Avellone) *''' On truly incorporeal undead': Incorporeal benefits( such as 50% chance to ignore hits, touch attack that ignores armour) will be fully supported. (''Charles Mead) Creatures: NWN2 Community Update #6 (28 March 2006) Original thread can be found here *'What parameters can be randomized on a creature': Scale randomization is in. No more details are disclosed. (Charles Mead) *'On different models for female and male humanoid monsters': Some have gender models (i.e. vampires), some don't (i.e. liches). Children version of various monsters can be done through scaling (Chris A) *'On animal empathy and animals attacking druids': Wild animals will still attempt to attack PC unless PC charms or empathizes them. Animal empathy at last check will only do one target, but this may change.(Chris A) *'On adding special abilities to creatures': Creatures can be given feats, skills, and spells just like in Neverwinter Nights (Charles Mead) *'Quote: In the toolset you will be able to create templates of multiple placeables which can then be placed as a group. Will this same methodology be used for creature building? For example will you be able to group a set of properties, similar to special quality types in the Monster Manual, and apply it to a creature as a group?': The attributes of multiple creatures can be modified simultaneously.(Charles Mead) Crafting: NWN2 Community Update #7 (10 April 2006) Original thread can be found here *'Will crafting take time in-game?':No, the effects of crafting an item are almost immediate. Quote:"We have to cater to the immediate gratification aspect of players when possible".(Chris A) *'On custom names for crafted items':Item naming is in, the player will be provided with an input box where they can type in the name of the item they have just fashioned (or simply leave the name as is for players who don't want to bother).(Chris A) *'On acquiring materials for crafting':Some of the items needed for crafting can be generated through random loot tables, especially since crafting also allows for breaking down certain components (such as Fire Beetle Bellies, Ghoul Claws, Fairy Dust, etc.) players will find in their travels. A placeable object (such as an alchemist workbench, Wizard’s Workbench, etc.) needs to exist in the environment for crafting to work.(Chris Avelone & Charles Mead) *'On using workbenches':A placeable object (such as an alchemist workbench, Wizard’s Workbench, froge etc.) needs to exist in the environment for crafting to work. It will also require a magic spell or an item to activate it (mortar and pestle, smith's hammer, etc.) *'On disabling crafting':Crafting is not crucial for the OC, and modders can disable crafting in their mods by removing workbenches or their equivalents from environment. (Chris Avelone) Crafting: NWN2 Community Update #8 (16 April 2006) Original thread can be found here *'Will crafting adhere to DND 3.5 rules': Quote:"The crafting system follows with the spirit of the D&D rules. For certain types of crafting, we’ve leaned more toward using actual components rather than simply subtracting gold." (Charles Mead) *'On adding new materials':Quote:"You will be able to craft items such as weapons and armor out of a number of different materials.It is relatively simple to modify itthe crafting system for your own purposes to make new "recipes" and add new materials. Here’s an example of the recipe for the "Amulet of Natural Armor +1": This recipe requires the casting of the Barkskin spell and the reagents of a faint earth essence, a sapphire, and an iron ingot to create the Amulet." *'On using metamagic feats when crafting': No changes from NWN1 in that regard (Meads) *'On "upgrading" magical items (adding enchantments on top of other enchantments)': Weapons and armor can be upgraded using the Magical Arms & Armor Crafting feat. *'How to forbid changing item appearance during crafting': Ambiguous answer. Quote:"The crafting system in NWN2 is not built into the radial menu, so access to crafting can be easily controlled by a module designer via the availability of certain placeables (mostly workbenches) and items (blank scrolls, empty potion bottles, etc)". (Ed.: It is now known that item appearance cannot be changed during crafting) Category:Pre-release information